Monitoring air quality is something on a lot of people’s minds these days. However, there are only a few air quality monitors that give a complete image of indoor air quality. The Airthings View plus is a popular solution to this issue. To prove it, we ran some hands-on tests to review the product that we are going to share with you. We also compare the air things view plus to 14 other air quality monitors.
The Airthings View Plus is one of the few comprehensive air quality monitors on the market. It’s capable of measuring many of the most important air quality metrics for a healthy home.
The Airthings View Plus is capable of measuring the following:
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Pressure
- Carbon dioxide
- Particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM1)
- VOCs
- Radon
Airthings View Plus Compared To Competition
The Airthings View Plus stood out from other air quality monitors for many reasons. These reasons make it the top air quality monitor for your home.
The top reasons include:
- A wide range of air quality metrics
- Historical data charts.
- User friendly app and interface
- Long lasting battery life
Other reasons include:
- Positive customer reviews
- Privacy
- Pollutant threshold levels
- Airthings corporation
Range of Air Quality Metrics
There are several important factors to consider when purchasing an air quality monitor. The most important factor to me was finding a monitor capable of measuring the important air quality metrics. I researched 15 air quality monitors, including the top 10 on Amazon.
I found the Airthings View Plus had one of the most impressive ranges of air quality metrics. This is part of why it’s in the top 3 of all air quality monitors on Amazon.
The most important metrics will be different for each person. For example, the second best air quality monitor on amazon only measures 4 metrics. They are carbon dioxide, temperature, humidity, and pressure. On the other hand, the Airthings View Plus measures 8 air quality metrics.
The top air quality monitor measures 8 as well, but some of them are different. This is why it’s important for you to decide the important metrics for you. I’ll cover this a bit more in a moment.
For me though, I wanted to be able to measure the most important air quality metrics for my home. This included VOCs, particulate matter, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide. I didn’t need a monitor capable of detecting formaldehyde, as it’s a common VOC that gets picked up by the VOC sensor.
Air Quality Data and Trends
An important factor when selecting an air quality monitor having access to air quality data.
This is because it’s important to have data to discover air quality issues in your home. If you can only see the current air quality metrics, its difficult to spot issues. For example, does air quality decrease at night? What about while you are cooking? These are trends you would miss without access to historical data.
In fact, I was able to use these trends to see how my cleaning route was hurting my home’s air quality. I’ll go into more detail on this later.
Of the 15 total air quality monitors I looked at, 8 had the ability to connect to WiFi. Of the 3 air quality monitors I was still considering, only the View Plus and uHoo show historical data. They were both also noted to have a long battery life. However, the uHoo does not have an interface. All the interaction and data is only visible via the app.
App and User Interface
To check the historical data in the Airthings View Plus, you must setup the Airthings app. The app shows all of your air quality data, as well as air quality thresholds. This is helpful because you may not otherwise know if your air quality is in an acceptable range. You can also see where your air quality metrics normal fall, so you know what is normal for your home.
The View Plus interface is nice as well. It can display 2 metrics of your choosing. Again, uHoo doesn’t have one so that’s one reason I preferred the Airthings View Plus.
Customer Reviews and Privacy
The Airthings View Plus has better customer reviews than the uHoo. The View Plus has a 4.1 out of 5 stars on Amazon, while the uHoo has 3.5 out of 5 stars. The View Plus also has about 3 times the number of review. Also, some reviews of the uHoo mention issues with poor connectivity, lack of customer support, and privacy concerns.
Final Decision
The Airthings View Plus is the best overall air quality monitor for its value.
It doesn’t have a carbon monoxide sensor but, carbon monoxide monitors are pretty standard in most homes so I don’t feel it’s necessary. As for nitrous oxide, this would be nice to have but tends to rise with other pollutants relating to cooking, such as particular matter, or VOCs.
If these are high while I’m cooking, I could probably assume nitrous oxide is high as well and take action.
How To Use The Airthings View Plus
The monitor is capable of measuring PM2.5, PM1, temperature, humidity, and pressure right away. It will take another 3 days after the initial setup to monitor radon, carbon dioxide, and VOCs. This is because the sensors for these pollutants need time to calibrate.
Once the monitor is ready, you can select which 2 pollutants you want to appear on the interface screen. You can then wave your hand over the monitor to see the overall air quality.
I know some people have an issue with not being able to see all the air quality metrics on the screen at the same time. For me, I find two to be enough. I already have a thermostat in my home, so I’m mostly not concerned with the temperature.
While it’s nice to check occasionally, I don’t need to know the pressure or humidity at any given time. This leaves VOC, CO2, PM1 and PM2.5. I typically leave the settings on CO2 and PM2.5.
In truth, I find it far more useful to use the app to check all measurements. By using the app I don’t have to walk over to the monitor and can observe all pollutants from wherever I am. I can also look back at the history. I can’t do that on the monitor, so I mainly use the app to check all data
Does The Airthings View Plus Work? We Ran Some Tests
My hands on tests showed the Airthings View Plus is highly capable of detecting changes in air quality.
Testing for VOCs
The View Plus was capable of detecting sharp increases of VOCs, as well as their gradual dissipation.
In the first test, I put the air quality monitor in a box to get an idea of the air quality in a sealed off space in my home. I then added an open can of paint primer and the VOC level shot up. This is a strong sign the air quality monitor works properly.
Not only did it respond to an increase in air pollutants, but it showed an increase in the right pollutants, VOC. I then observed as the VOC’s fell over time.
I was also able to detect an increase in VOCs with the air quality monitor when using cleaning products. I sprayed a conventional cleaner into the same box and watch the VOCs shoot up. Again, it not only detected an increase, but the right increase.
Interestingly, when I use Force of Nature, an eco-friendly cleaner, this increase in VOCs was not observed.
I also tried putting an Airjoi in the box and found that the monitor was sensitive enough to detect changes. An Airjoi is essentially a bag filled with activated charcoal, which can remove pollutants from the air.
These charcoal bags don’t usually make large impacts on air quality, so it’s impressive the View Plus was able to detect this.
Particulate Matter
The Airthings View Plus was more than capable of monitoring particulate matter, as proven during the Canadian wildfires.
When trying to figure out how I was going to test the View Plus for particulates, I got very lucky. I didn’t want to do anything that was going to purposely add particulates to my home. Just days later, the Canadian wildfires happened and the particulates detected shot up and stayed up, as expected. At the same time other metrics stayed low, as expected.
Here again, the Airthings View Plus was able to detect changes as a result of the Airjoi charcoal bags.
Humidity
The Airthings View Plus was able to detect changes in humidity when left near a humidifier.
To test out its ability to measure humidity, I put the air quality meter in a box along with a humidifier. As expected, the air quality measurement for humidity shot up quickly. The monitor also did a good job showing how the humidity dropped over time.
The one area where the monitor struggled was when the humidity shot up to over 85%. But if you read the technical details, this is actually a noted limit of the air quality monitor. So, for me this was not an issue at all.
Plus, the air quality in your home will likely never reach this high, unless you leave all the windows open on extremely humid days with no air conditioning.
Radon
Radon levels in my home fluctuated over the past few months which is not something I knew of. Luckily for me there weren’t any instances when the radon levels reached worrisome amounts. I also don’t have a safe way to test radon levels, so I’ll have to depend on others here.
The View Plus has high customer reviews in general, but specifically for radon. So again I’m happy here.
Where To Not Use
You shouldn’t use the Airthings View Plus for the following purposes
- Outdoors
- Very large or small spaces
- Humidity: Above 85%
- Temperature: Below 39 F or above 104 F
- Carbon dioxide: Below 400 ppm or above 5000 ppm
- VOC: Above 10,000 ppb
- Particulates: Below 10 micrometers or above 300 micrometer
- Radon: Above 500 pCi/L
What We Love
- The range of air quality metrics
- The monitor display is nice
- The app is great and so is the historic data
- Air quality measurement thresholds
- Ability to add more monitors
What Could Be Better
There wasn’t much I had an issue with when it comes to the View Plus. I suppose it would be nice to check a few more pollutants from the interface, but this wasn’t a big issue. Also, the app was sometimes delayed a few minutes compared to the interface. Again, this wasn’t a big issue, but it made some air quality testing a bit more difficult.
Where To Purchase
You can buy the Airthings view plus directly from the website. Be sure to use the coupon below.
Coupon Code - 10% Off
GoGreenPost-10OFF
Final Thoughts
Detecting issues with air quality is the first step taking corrective action. The historical data found in the Airthings View Plus app makes it easy to identify the specific times and actions which cause poor air quality. With this information, you can then act to keep the air in your home healthy and clean for you and your family.
It’s effective at measuring a range of pollutants and air quality metrics. Overall, it was able to meet my needs better then all the other air quality monitors available.
If you’re looking for other tips on air quality, try to switch to a eco-friendly cleaning products, such as Force of Nature. You could also try bamboo charcoal for minor air quality improvements.
If you’re a more hands-on type person and don’t want to spend the money on a air quality monitor, you could build one. We have a tutorial on how to make one using an Arduino.
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